W&m Rec Center Comes Up Short

Gym Satisfies School Officials

August 10, 1989|By MARK DI VINCENZO Staff Writer

WILLIAMSBURG — The College of William and Mary will soon open a $4.8 million recreation center that some say has ceilings too low for volleyball and basketball, and a swimming pool that has so much glare they'll have to hire extra lifeguards.

Racquetball courts in the building don't meet tournament standards. The reception area is near the racquetball courts, which generate more noise than any other activity.

The alcoves designed for vending machines are too narrow for standard machines.

And despite the school's Southern climate and Williamsburg's reputation for steamy days, air conditioning was left out of much of the building by mistake.

Despite the flaws, W&M officials say they are generally satisfied with the Physical Education, Intramural/Recreation Facility.

They stress that the generic-sounding building near William and Mary Hall on the newer portion of the campus far exceeds the building it replaces: the 64-year-old, roach-infested Blow Gymnasium on the older section of campus.

"The students haven't had much for so long that this will probably be the most heavily used building on campus," said Denny Byrne, W&M's director of recreational sports. "Regardless of the problems, this place will be a helluva lot better than Blow Gym."

For years at Blow Gym, which is now being renovated, a running track suspended above the basketball court in the front of the building prevented players from shooting from the corners.

In the new building, some physical education teachers and coaches say, shots from everywhere will be affected.

The new building's multi-peak roof keeps the ceiling in the basketball gymnasium at 20 feet, about 10 feet lower than standard height, said Byrne.

I-beams, just 20 feet above the floor, are expected to interrupt play, Byrne said, especially of volleyball and badminton matches.

Despite Byrne's claim of a 30-foot standard ceiling height, project architect Michael Bennett said he is not aware of a standard height, and he thinks the I-beams will not interfere "99 percent of the time."

"It's true that 20 feet is the minimum that is normally accepted," said Bennett, of Norfolk's Washington Design Group Limited, the firm that designed the center. "But I don't think it's too low. I know I can't touch it. The design decision was based on economics."

William F. Merck, W&M's vice president for administration and finance, said, "The height is not a critical factor. Did we sacrifice utility for aesthetics? I think the answer is `no.' We never intended this to be a competition facility. We designed this so we would have the most space for the least cost."

The building's design was reviewed and approved by the state Division of Engineering and Buildings, the state Art and Architectural Review Council and W&M's governing board, the Board of Visitors.

The building, originally scheduled to be ready six months ago, cost $4.8 million. That includes $4.3 million from the state's general fund and $457,401 from the auxiliary reserve fund, which is earned by self-supporting activities.

Even the new building's detractors view the flaws as small scars on an impressive facility.

The center, most of which is scheduled to open when school starts later this month, has three floors of rooms, loaded with state-of-the-art equipment.

It has three basketball courts, a five-foot-deep eight-lane pool, six racquetball courts, two squash courts, classrooms and locker rooms with about 400 lockers for men and 300 for women.

It also has two weight lifting rooms, one of which has computerized exercise bicycles that check riders' pulses.

Just outside the center, tennis courts have been built, and a fitness trail is coming.

The new equipment isn't the only thing that sparkles, however.

Officials say a wall next to the pool, made of windows, lets in so much light - and glare on the pool's surface - that extra lifeguards will be needed to make it safe.

While one weight room's walls are too short, another's ceiling was too low to raise a barbell overhead. The 8-foot height caused it to be converted to a classroom and another space was found for the weights.

Heating and cooling the inside of the gym, because of the roof design, is expected to be expensive. For example, on a recent 78-degree day, the temperature near the inside of the roof was 108 degrees.

Officials are already planning to air-condition the rest of the building, at a cost of about $300,000. When it was designed in 1986, only office and some classroom space was to be air-conditioned.

Bennett said air conditioning was not included in much of the building because a state Division of Engineering and Building directive urged that air conditioning not be installed in certain buildings, including athletic facilities, to save money during an energy crisis in 1979.

But that directive was rescinded on April 1, 1984, about two years before design began on W&M's rec center, said Henry Shirley, the division's assistant director.

A design factor that likely will not be changed is the racquetball court walls, which are all one-half inch too thick, Bennett said. The size difference is because the college ordered a low-maintenance wooden panel to cover the mortar-block walls.

Officials and rec center staffers also are concerned that the weight room on the main floor, which contains the building's most expensive equipment, is enclosed only by half walls. Intruders could crawl over the walls and move exercise bicycles and rowing machines, for example, back over the walls.

Washington Design also designed the center to have a sauna and whirlpool. The sauna has been ordered, but the whirlpool has been placed on a backburner until money is available, said W. Samuel Sadler, W&M's vice president for student affairs.